King Pharmaceuticals Inc. (KG) recently received the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval for marketing Embeda, its new drug for moderate to severe chronic pain. The company plans to launch the product next month.
Embeda is made of morphine and naltrexone, with morphine being its primary ingredient. When the pill is taken as directed, it releases morphine that relieves pain. When the pill is crushed or chewed, it releases naltrexone, thereby reversing the subjective and analgesic effects of morphine.
The approval will boost the company’s top line. Embeda has been under FDA review since June 2008. King acquired Embeda through its acquisition of Alpharma Inc.
King Pharmaceuticals is a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company that focuses on the development and marketing of branded prescription pharmaceutical products and animal health products. The company primarily focuses on specialty markets, particularly specialty-driven branded prescription pharmaceutical markets.
The company is in the process of developing another pain killer, Remoxy. This is also an abuse-resistant drug with a thick liquid form of oxycodone as its main ingredient. FDA has requested for additional data for this application from King. The company is addressing this issue and is likely to resubmit its application in mid-2010.
Read the full analyst report on “KG”
Zacks Investment Research
